


The Offer

by Freedoms_Champion



Series: Burglar Lessons [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Bilbo learns to fight, Good Uncle Thorin, Kili and Fili get in the middle of everything, Kili has no tact, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Thorin, Thorin basically helped raise his nephews, Thorin can't get the hang of this gratitude thing, Thorin has a lot of angst, Thorin-centric, the Company at Beorn's house
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26470717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedoms_Champion/pseuds/Freedoms_Champion
Summary: While recovering from his wounds at Beorn's house, Thorin overhears his nephews offering (ordering) their services to train their Burglar.He would do it himself, but he isn't fit.
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield
Series: Burglar Lessons [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924351
Comments: 2
Kudos: 85





	The Offer

Thorin ached in every part of himself. Between the battering he’d taken in the Goblin tunnels, the injuries Azog and his white Warg had inflicted, and simply not being as young as he used to be, he was lucky to be doing as well as he was. All thanks to Gandalf, of course. Thorin wanted to be grateful to the wizard, but it was harder than it should have been.

He sighed and settled in the grass. Beorn had let his Company stay and recover from the ordeal they had been through, which was kind of him. Still, Thorin couldn’t relax. The orcs would be searching for them and time was passing quickly. He had to reach Lonely Mountain before Durin’s Day or the entire quest would be for nothing. He’d have to wait a year to mount another one and there was no guarantee that Gandalf, his burglar, or any of Thorin’s own people would be willing to go.

The worst case possible was that only Dwalin, Balin, Fili, and Kili would go with him. Thorin wanted more than anything to restore his people to their home, but he wasn’t willing to undertake it with only those four behind him. Not that they weren’t worthy companions, but because the older dwarves had already given up so much in their lives and the boys weren’t ready. Thorin hadn’t wanted to bring them at all, but their mother had insisted.

“They are too much like you, Thorin,” Dis had said firmly. “If you leave without them, I’d have to put them in chains to keep them from sneaking after you. In fact, I’m not certain even that would be enough.” So, unwillingly, Thorin brought them on the most dangerous journey he had ever taken.

He was being ungrateful again, he knew it. Fili and Kili had as much right as he did to see the Mountain and try to take it back, if they could manage such a feat. They were just so young…

“Mister Boggins!” Kili’s voice exclaimed, shaking Thorin out of dark thoughts. He looked around and found that both the burglar and the boys had come out onto the grass.

“I’ve told you, Kili, it’s Baggins,” the burglar said, the words touched with a hint of exasperation. Thorin could have told him he was wasting his time. Once Kili had something fixed in his head, it was almost impossible to uproot. It was a talent that made him such a great archer, but not very useful for daily life.

“Let us see that elvish blade you took from the trolls,” Fili said, pushing his brother to the side. Thorin narrowed his eyes. What could the boys be getting at? They had weapons suited to them and the hobbit’s elvish blade would be too light for either of them to use, anyway. If there was mischief afoot, Thorin would be responsible for stopping it, even if he didn’t feel equal to it.

The hobbit looked bewildered but handed over the blade. Thorin had looked it over in Rivendell out of curiosity, but there was nothing special about it. It was small enough that it would have served an elf as a dagger, with the typical leaf-shaped blade and graceful hilt. Being elf craft, it couldn’t be in need of tending.

Fili checked the weapon closely, which warmed Thorin’s heart. He remembered teaching both of them to handle and care for weapons, when they had been small. As expected, he could see Fili working to control the blade as he swung it to test the weight and balance. Lighter blades lacked power but could move faster and adjusting to one took time.

Fili handed the little sword over to Kili, who performed his own, nearly identical, inspection. Thorin got to his feet, growing more concerned. This wasn’t idle curiosity.  
“May I ask what you’re doing?” the hobbit asked, accepting his sword back.

“Well, we saw how you stepped between Thorin and the white Warg,” Fili replied. Thorin could see thoughts rushing behind his eyes, though a stranger hardly would.  
“It was pathetic!” Kili interjected, tactlessly. Even more curious, he had dumped an armload of wood on the ground and was sorting it.

“Brave and worthy of respect,” Fili added, raising his voice slightly. “But, not effective. We thought you could fight, Bilbo, and now we see you can’t. Don’t worry, Kili and I are going to teach you!”

Thorin couldn’t see the hobbit’s face, but he could imagine it. Shocked and offended, most likely. Well, he’d have to suffer. Thorin hadn’t been at all convinced by Gandalf’s assurance that his burglar was up to the job and nothing in their travels had changed his mind.

Except his assumption that Bilbo wouldn’t be able to survive alongside the Company. There, the hobbit had proved him wrong, making his way through the same hazards and possibly greater, if his account of the riddle game in the dark was accurate. The hobbit was made of sterner stuff than he looked, but that didn’t change the fundamental problem: without skills, his sword would be more of a danger to himself and his companions than their enemies.

Thorin had toyed with the idea of teaching Bilbo himself, but the fact was that he was in no condition to teach and wouldn’t be until it was too late. When they got back on the road, there wouldn’t be much time for teaching, even though it would only get more dangerous. Bilbo needed teaching while they were in Beorn’s house. If the boys wanted to do it, Thorin couldn’t in good conscience stop them.

“Well, I- All right. Thank you for offering. I know I’m not a trained warrior like all of you are,” Bilbo finally said. Thorin watched him straighten his spine slightly, no doubt an effort to feel braver. He could remember doing the same thing when he was young.

“Great! We’ll be back later with some things to help,” Kili said. He picked up the stack of wood and dumped a smaller amount of it into his brother’s arms. The pair of them hurried off, leaving Bilbo standing by himself.

Thorin didn’t disturb him, but he did resolve to watch these training sessions carefully. His nephews were good boys and too young to remember that other people didn’t share their boundless energy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> I recently read The Hobbit, so some book elements got mixed into the movie events, such as how much time was spent at Beorn's.
> 
> Comments are welcome and I hope you have a great day!


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